Shizuka Ame
by Taigurl
Summary: Tai spends a rainy evening reminiscing on events from the past. Can he find the courage to tell Sora he loves her?


**o7.11.o6** A/N: I went through and re-edited the content for more efficient and grammatically correct reading. Most of what I have published is pretty old so I'm frightened at what I've found laying around. :P I don't know if I will find the time of desire to continue but if some people enjoy it then I leave it up for their sakes.

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A spring shower rapped softly on the window of the bedroom Taichi and Hikari Yagami shared before sliding down a crooked rivulet of water and melting into a collection of tiny droplets on the pane. The former sat with his legs crossed in a chair, head resting on his knuckles, absentmindedly mesmerized by the rhythmic drizzling. _What an awful day to be stuck  
indoors_. Taichi thought to himself. _The first day of Spring Break, and I can't believe it has to be spent like this_. He sighed and bounced his pencil between his thumb and forefinger, making a tapping noise on his desk.

Homework is what he was trying to finish. Sensei Yokoto was always getting on to him about how he needed to be "more ambitious" and "make better use of his time" in class, then loaded up him and the rest of the students with enough papers to kill an elephant.  
"To keep young minds fresh while on vacation" he had said. _I'll be as fresh as a daisy if my brain isn't fried first,_ the boy thought bitterly. Why else would he have lugged out his books on this dreary gray day, besides the fact that there was nothing else to do?

Thoughts floated around in Taichi's head. School. Friends. Life. Nothing much in particular. School was ok sometimes, he supposed. It wasn't as tiresome as in the past, when he had too much energy pent up inside his young body to be sitting in a stuffy classroom all day. After that one life-changing summer however, he learned to control himself better and channel his energy into schoolwork occasionally. His grades began to improve, and he discovered that Sora was right; learning can be fun.

Sora. That one girl carried a mixture of emotions in Tai as big as the sky she was named after. She was his first best friend, and best friends they still remained. Still in nursery school when they met, the two of them hit it off really well together. To the five year old Tai, Sora was the only girl that wasn't a sissy. She could run just as fast, kick a soccer ball just as hard, and  
match wits with the best of the boys in their grade. Most of the other girls at his school were too prissy to go out digging in the dirt for worms, or didn't want to tear their new dress climbing a tree. That's not to say all the girls were like that, of course, but a majority of them were, and those were the kind of girls Taichi and his buddies tried to avoid at all times.

He remembered how one new boy made fun of her round blue hat, and he received the same charitable treatment Tai had when he first insulted it; a nice pop in the jaw. That bruise had lasted a week. He snorted and put his hand to the same place on his face where Sora had punched him years ago. He was embarrassed to find that his cheek was hot, and glancing at his reflection in the window, saw that they were glowing pink. To make matters worse, he also had a silly grin on his face. Disgustedly he slammed his desk with his fist, causing papers and books to jump in the air. Taichi ran his fingers through his thick shock of hair, and slumped over.

"Why does life have to be so complicated?" he groaned exasperatedly. Tai didn't want to admit it, but he might have a little tiny crush on Sora. Maybe. _Oh shut up and stop trying to lie to yourself. You know you like her, _his heart told him. _Yeah, so what if I do? I've always liked her!_ he yelled back. _But not in this way... _He didn't feel like answering to that, and decided to tune himself out by taking a stretch. Unfortunately his mind continued to wander to the past…

_The game was tied 4 to 4 so far. All the other team needed was one more point to be in the lead. Suddenly a ball came flying towards the goal and in order to intercept it, the young Taichi jumped up and attempted a headder. He saved the other team from scoring, but unfortunately he and the ball collided, whacking his face and sending him crashing to the ground. The referee blew his whistle and called a time-out, while Mrs. Yagami, Sora, and one of Tai's other friends Taro, hastened to his side. After assuring them he was okay (he had a splitting head-ache but didn't want to cry in front of the team, and especially NOT Sora), Sora quickly ran to her duffel and pulled out  
a candy bar. As the team began to reassemble on the field, Sora pressed it in his hand before she ran back out saying,_

"I was saving it for later, but I guess you need it more than me,"

"Thanks Sora..." Tai sniffed. How did she know I loved candy?_ He wondered as Coach sent Taro to play defense for him. I had better hide the leftovers, from Kari... _

It was the little things that made Sora such a likeable person. He supposed  
that's why she got the Crest of Love. He remembered how later, when he was asked to write a paragraph about a friend in first grade, he had written about Sora and that soccer incident. His neck burned with mortification at the recollection of the humble composition, and was glad Sora had never  
seen it.

The chocolate was eventually consumed although Tai remembered how good it had tasted. Maybe because it was given with love from a friend. He saved some for later although he never got the chance to finish it; Kari had fed the rest of it to the little black thing that interrupted their quiet life one morning. _Perhaps it was because of that chocolate that Agumon grew three times larger than the normal size..._ Tai idley speculated. That night had changed their life in more ways than one. Unable to explain how the damage came to be, the newspapers called it a 'Terrorist Attack'. That was nine years ago but hundreds of families moved away, including his old friend Taro and Sora and her mother. Tai was still pretty young then, and he never did get her new address. He regretted it later, sort of missing her company and the times they used to play together after school and on their 6 and under soccer team.

Then one Saturday afternoon about two and a half years later, his soccer team had a game scheduled against another group of youngsters. Rumor had it that they were getting a brand-new teammate that day, and the kid had just moved into the area but was fantastic. And, the all-boy team whispered, this new kid was a girl.

_Out on the field that day, Tai and his friends kept their eyes opened for the new player, and as a result, were losing the game from lack of concentration. Then in the second quarter a black van drove up, and out ran a girl with a duffel bag and short orange hair. She was also wearing the team's red and white uniform. Tai narrowed his eyes and studied her carefully as she  
apologized to the coach for being tardy._

"Sorry, the moving van was late," she explained. The coach knowingly nodded, and put her in the third quarter, benching Tai and one of his pals.

"That girl better be able to keep up with us if she knows what's good for her," Tai grumbled as he and Tokashi sat down. There was something familiar about this girl, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. The two of them watched the new player, and had to admit, she was quite talented.

"Wow! Take a look at that shot!" Tokashi exclaimed as she made another goal.

"Huh? Yeah, great,"

"She's even better than you,"

"Whadd'ya mean she's better than me! I'm the best one around here and it's gonna stay that way!"

"That's very humble Tai!" the new girl laughed as she ran with the ball down the sidelines.

"Huh? Wha--!" Tai fell forward off the bench and landed on his hands and knees, gaping after the player that just whizzed by.

"How'd she know your name?" Tokashi asked.

"Sora..." Tai whispered. Tokashi blinked and squinted up at the cloudless, bright blue above them.

"I don't think it's going to rain..." his friend said.

"No! Not that sora!" annoyed at his friend, Tai wiped off his knees and stood up, shielding his eyes with his hand and watching the game. "That Sora!"

"Oh..."

"Come on! GO-O-O SORA!" Tai cheered. Sora waved at him from the field and gave him the thumbs-up sign. Their team was pulling ahead now. Sora was fantastic, and Tai knew this was the best he had ever seen her. All too soon the third quarter was up, and the teams ran to the sidelines to  
have a quick break. Coach was deciding who to take out and who should go back into the game.

Tai ran quickly ran up to him, "Coach! Let me play this last quarter!"

"No need to beg, chisai Yagami. I was going to put you in again anyways—forward this time,"

"Yes!" Tai jumped into the air. The young boy ran to his friend. "Tokashi! Did you hear? I'm in!"

"I don't know why you're so excited, you always get put in," he mumbled. Tai walked over to Sora. 

"Hey Sora, I thought you moved," the girl finished taking a sip from her water-bottle and replied,

"Mmm. Yes, but I hated the new school, and Mama just wasn't selling enough flowers like she was here in Odiba. She says she never believed there was a terrorist attack anyways," the two shared a knowing look. 

"Oh. Well it's nice to have you back. You did a great job-out there." Sora smiled. It hardly felt like she had been away. Soon the ref's whistle blew, signaling the beginning of the last quarter.

The action never let up as long as everyone worked together. Tai's team knew that if they wanted to make it to the championships, they were going to have to stay focused. The rest of the game was a blur in Tai's mind. It was fast paced, and competitive--that he knew. But it wasn't the most important part. 

Only one minute more to go. The score was 5 to 4 with them in the lead. Tai wanted to make sure it stayed that way. Thirty more seconds. He was dribbling down center field with Sora nearby and the opposing team closing in. Fifteen seconds left. The boy on Taichi's left quickly moved in to swipe the ball, but Tai was faster. Ten seconds. Here was his chance to slam that ball into the back of the net! And he would have, had it not been for the stupid sunken ground which he and the other kid misshapenly tripped into. Five seconds. Sora took possession just in time and aimed true, scoring the perfect shot.  
Zero.  
Everyone cheered and jumped up and down. Sora ran over to Tai and held out her hand.

"I'm sorry about that...that was supposed to be your winning shot, not mine." Taichi grinned and pulled himself up.

"That's okay Sora. Remember, there's no 'I' in team,"

Taichi recalled how they had made it to the championship games-and  
won. They took the ball and signed it with their names. Tai still had it somewhere after all these years...  
After all these years...  
Both of them had done a lot of growing up between now and then. Sora was no longer the rough-and-tumble tomboy she once was. She was still adventurous and so much fun to be around, but she was growing up into a beautiful young woman now, and followed in her mother's florist footsteps.   
_She's gorgeous..._Taichi thought. He knew that someday soon she was going to be someone's girlfriend if not his. He wouldn't let that happen. _I've waited long enough...she's the only girl I want,_ he sighed contentedly. _Wait a minute, what are you saying! Ask Sora out? But she's your best-friend! Friends don't ask friends out, do they? I-I-don't know...but somehow… it just seems right..._  
Yes.   
He was going to do it. Tai sat up and took in a deep breath. His heart was pounding, he had never realized how much courage this was going to require. What do you say? Where do you say it? When? How? His mind was spinning with all the questions he had. He needed advice, but didn't  
know who to turn to. Matt? Matt knew a lot about girls...but Tai didn't want to involve him or anyone else. Not this time. He was going to do it on his own.

Glancing at his calendar, he saw it was only a week and a half away from Sora's birthday. Was it only three years ago he had given her that stupid hair pin? He sort of winced at the memory. Sora could be as stubborn as he when she had the mind to be, but everything had turned out okay, hadn't it?  
What was he going to give her this year? Something unique...he was going to give her an early gift and ask her out, he resolved. Immediately an object came to his mind.

Hidden away in his sock drawer under the pile of underwear, there was a special article he had always kept. He took it out and looked at it. It was old and worn, but just the thing, he decided. Taichi closed the drawer and put it under his pillow before sneaking down the hall to look for some wrapping paper.

Hikari and Mr. Yagami were watching T.V. together as his mother washed dishes. Hoping not to arouse their attention, he cautiously tip-toed to the hall closet and opened it, hunting through the pile of stuff for gift-wrap. He saw two rolls, one plain brown and the other a shimmery floral, and  
was about to reach for the latter when Kari interrupted him.

"What are you doing Tai?" She asked from her place on the couch. Taichi shut his eyes and grabbed a tube, hiding it behind his back.

"N-Nothing, just getting stuff for...a school project!" He inched down the hallway, and ran to his room, slamming the door behind him. Kari raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Once in the safety of his room, he locked the door and took the roll out from behind his back. He was dismayed to find that it was the plain brown paper he had grabbed instead of the prettier one. "Well I can't risk going back a second time...this is just going to have to do."

Carefully he unrolled it on the floor and took out a pair of scissors from the desk. After cutting it so it would fit, he wrapped it neatly, and sat back to admire his work. _It's good...but too plain_, he thought. _A ribbon is just what it needs to make it more interesting. Now where would I find a ribbon?_

"Junk, stuff, some more junk, some more stuff-gee am I a messy kid!" He muttered, rummaging through drawers. At length, he emptied two of them out completely before replacing its contents. "I thought I saw one around here somewhere-aha!" reaching deep back into the third drawer of   
Hikari's bureau, he pulled out the sought after object.

It was beautiful. A thick, shiny, ribbon the color of cream. Taichi ran his dark,  
rough fingers over the delicate satin and was pleased with the look and feel of it. _Sora will love it...and I'm sure Kari won't mind. Besides, it's been back there so long she's probably forgotten about it now_, he rationalized. The next few hours were spent productively by trying to tie the ribbon to look  
aesthetically pleasing, a task which was not Taichi's forte.

Mrs. Yagami had finished making dinner and was quite surprised when her husband and daughter made it to the dinner table before her teenage son.

"Hikari dear, where's Tai?"

"I don't know mom. Maybe he's still in his room. Would you like me to go check?"

"Yes please,"

"Didn't Tai say he was doing a school project? He must be working on it very hard! How proud we should be to have a son who knows the value of a good education!" Mr. Yagami beamed. Kari rolled her eyes and scampered off to retrieve her 'studious' brother. She didn't even have to put her hand on the knob to know the door was locked.

"Tai, unlock the door and come out. It's time to eat,"

"Yeah, hold on-"

"Look, whatever you're doing, it can wait until tomorrow or at least until after dinner. Your food is getting cold,"

"Tomorrow?" Tai repeated. The boy glanced at the clock which told him it was almost ten. _It's too late to call Sora now_, he figured. _Tomorrow then. I'll call her tomorrow_.


End file.
